R. W. Bailey, an agent for the American Colonization Society, was commissioned to investigate and prosecute the interests of African Colonization "with a view to the emigration of the Free people of color of Virginia." Bailey informs the legislature that he "has extensively corresponded & conversed with her public men & private citizens, of different classes & all classes." He has "collected facts, developed opinions, & arrived at conclusions, which furnish the reasons for his present appeal" to the legislature. He asks the legislature to provide for the removal and settlement of Virginia free blacks in Liberia. "It is," he writes, "a measure of right, of Justice, of humanity, of Economy, of policy, -- practicable, expedient & necessary." He argues that free people of color, "now resident here," labor "under disabilities, from which we can never relieve them—under discouragements which create in them—as similar causes would in us, in all men—an indifference which begets idleness; a recklessness, which leads to crime, despair, & final abandonment." Bailey suggests that many free people of color wish to emigrate and that "Their consent once obtained, our ability to remove them will not be questioned." Failing the passage of legislation, Bailey asks for an appropriation to aid the society's efforts.
Result: Referred to committee on colonization.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
